


Dreams

by arborealstops



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Gen, also the relationships are only kinda there, i haven't actually finished the show, so these might not be great, spoilers through s5 e14 "An Khe"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-04 12:32:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 3,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17304692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arborealstops/pseuds/arborealstops
Summary: In their dreams, they are happy.





	1. One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figure I should let you know- when I started writing these, I had just finished s5 e11 (The Benign Prerogative) so, with the first few especially, there is no reference to anything after that, and any references past that will only go up to s5 e14 (An Khe) because, first of all, I'm only one episode past that, and I don't want to include much from Full Disclosure.

In his dreams, Josiah Bartlet is not the president. While many men can only wish for his titles- "leader of the free world," "commander in chief," "the most powerful man in the world"- he does not.  
In his dreams, Jed Bartlet lives on a farm. In New Hampshire, of course- nothing he ever did, or didn't do, could erase his Bartlet pride.  
In his dreams, Josiah Bartlet has a simple life. His wife picks apples and makes cider; his daughters garden and ride horses; he reads and eats dinner with his family.  
In his dreams, Jed Bartlet is a family man- dinner together, making (and subsequently burning) pancakes, daily softball games, movie nights, and holidays together. _Together_ \- what a beautiful thought.  
In his dreams, Josiah Bartlet is restless, yes. He shouts at the politicians on television, rants to his wife, sends letters to congressmen and women, and teaches his daughters right from wrong.  
In his dreams, Jed Bartlet is healthy. The multiple sclerosis isn't gone, no- even the dreamworld can't do that. But he hasn't had an episode in years.  
In his dreams, Josiah Bartlet is friends with Tobias Ziegler. Claudia Jean Cregg comes for dinner every Saturday. Joshua Lyman, who was never shot, lives in his house, and Samuel Seaborn calls every Friday from California. Donnatella Moss visits Josh altogether too often, but every visit from Leo, Jenny, and Mallory is a blessing. Charlie Young us the only one to call him "sir," and no one has to do anything he says.  
In his dreams, Jed Bartlet is not the president. He is not the governor. He has no titles, no command. He is not involved with the military, cannot start wars, and has no intention of ever doing so. He is not the Commander in Chief or the leader of the free world. In his dreams, he is himself.  
In his dreams, Josiah Bartlet is happy.


	2. Two

In her dreams, Abigail Bartlet might be first lady. She might not be. In the end, it doesn't matter to her.   
In her dreams, Abbey Bartlet is a doctor. When she opens her eyes, it is still true, but at night, that is what she is known for. Not her husband.   
In her dreams, Abigail Bartlet has time. Time to spend with her daughters, time to spend with her husband, time to cook, time to sleep.   
In her dreams, Abbey Bartlet is a mother and a wife. She makes pancakes, cooks dinner, braids her daughters' hair, surprises her husband, goes on vacations, and throws birthday parties.   
In her dreams, Abigail Bartlet complains. She complains about the weather, the government, her work. She complains to her husband- who listens, and tries to fix it all.   
In her dreams, Abbey Bartlet loves the fall. She loves the long walks in orchards, the golden leaves, the crisp apples. No elections.   
In her dreams, Abigail Bartlet wears sweatpants. And flannels. And slippers. She wears them to get the mail, when she answers the phone, while she watches television.   
In her dreams, Abbey Bartlet worries about her husband- but she doesn't need to. His episodes are rare, and there is no reason to hide.   
In her dreams, Abigail Bartlet is with her family. She watches her girls grow up, dotes on her husband, and is surrounded by people who care for her.   
In her dreams, Abbey Bartlet is a mother, a doctor, a wife, a feminist, a woman, and many other things besides.   
In her dreams, Abigail Bartlet is happy.


	3. Three

In his dreams, Joshua Lyman is still the Deputy Chief of Staff. What else would he be? This is the real thing, and there’s nowhere else he’d rather be. That is, most of the time.  
In his dreams, Josh Lyman has more free time- free time to spend with his sister, who never died in a fire. His sister, his closest friend.   
In his dreams, Joshua Lyman plays baseball. Not professionally, of course- just a backyard game, over Thanksgiving. As usual, the only pitches he hits are the ones thrown by his father.   
In his dreams, Josh Lyman listens to music. He sings off-key and he dances badly, but he smiles and he laughs.   
I his dreams, Joshua Lyman doesn’t have an assistant. There is no Deputy Deputy Chief of Staff. But Donnatella Moss is not gone.   
In his dreams, Josh Lyman watches his friends. They are happy- the President has a wonderful marriage and time to spend with his kids; Toby holds hands with Andy and makes lunches for Huck and Molly; Sam stays in D.C., spends time with Mallory, and fixes things with his dad; C.J. is more relaxed, and she spends time with Danny, outside of work, and she isn’t haunted by Simon Donovan; Donna has a better job, better pay, better boyfriend, better life; Charlie sees his sister more and gets phone calls from his mother and goes on dates with Zoey; Leo goes to dinner with Mallory, and dances with Jordon Kendall. They are happy.   
In his dreams, Joshua Lyman goes on dates. Real, actual dates, with girls. Or, one girl. A girl with long blonde hair and shiny pink lips. A girl with bright eyes, who knows more than she lets on, and, if he’s being honest, deserves better than him.  
In his dreams, Josh Lyman is young. He has a sister and a father. There is no scar on his chest, and he can hear his favorite songs without cringing. He doesn’t have everything he’s ever wanted, but his friends are happy. Their happiness is all that’s ever really mattered to him.   
In his dreams, Joshua Lyman is happy.


	4. Four

In Samuel Seaborn’s dreams, he is always Deputy Communications Director. He is always back in Washington, where he belongs.   
In Sam Seaborn’s dreams, there are no girls. No matter how much he liked Laurie or Ainsley, even in his dreams, there is no time for them.  
In Samuel Seaborn’s dreams, there is no Will Bailey. There is no California 47th, no Orange County. There is no dead candidate, no lonely widow. He doesn’t want them.   
In Sam Seaborn’s dreams, there is the senior staff. There is Josh Lyman, with his terrible poker face, and Toby Ziegler with his stupid rubber balls that Sam would never admit he missed. There is Leo McGarry, with that soft half-smile that he only used when he was truly proud of someone. There is C.J. Cregg, with her amazingly wild sense of humor, and Charlie Young, with his steady, serious eyes and huge crush on the boss’s daughter. There is Donnatella Moss, with her comforting hugs. And there is Jed Bartlet, like a second father to him, with his obscure trivia and generous smile.   
In Samuel Seaborn’s dreams, there is sometimes his family. Most often, it’s his mother, warm and comforting. But sometimes, it’s his father, the way Sam used to remember him- playing baseball with his son, watching television, trying to cook dinner.  
In Sam Seaborn’s dreams, he supposes there actually is one girl. There is, it seems, always enough time for Mallory O’Brien to catch his eye, though he never seems to catch hers anymore.   
In Samuel Seaborn’s dreams, he has family. He has everyone who made the White House worth it. He has everyone he has ever loved.  
In Sam Seaborn’s dreams, he is happy.


	5. Five

In Claudia Jean Cregg’s dreams, she is the press secretary. No matter how many times she shouts “I quit!” as she passes through the bullpen, or by Leo’s office, she is always the press secretary.   
In C.J. Cregg’s dreams, there are no guns. She never had to wonder if the President was hit, never had to see Josh’s bloody body collapse into Toby’s arms. She never had to see Donna’s face when Toby told her what had happened. Never had to hear about Simon Donovan’s death.  
In Claudia Jean Cregg’s dreams, her father is healthy. He calls at Easter and Christmas and Thanksgiving. He calls on her birthday, and she visits on his. He plays the piano, and talks about his wife, who he will probably outlive, because he is healthy.   
In C.J. Cregg’s dreams, there is Toby Ziegler. His dry humor, his brooding, his ability to listen, and sometimes to talk. There is her best friend.   
In Claudia Jean Cregg’s drams, there is Sam, and Josh, and Leo, and Charlie, and the President. The smile, they play poker, they talk about rye bread and tease each other. They are family.   
In C.J. Cregg’s dreams, there is Donna, and Ginger, and Carol, and Margaret, and Abbey. There is wine with cork in it, and sometimes there is Amy. There is laughter, and jokes, and there are no job titles.   
In Claudia Jean Cregg’s dreams, there is Danny Concannon. His scruffy hair and his smile and his way of getting under her skin. He grabs her and she grabs him and they kiss and they kiss and they smile.   
In C.J. Cregg’s dreams, there are people, people everywhere. People smiling and laughing and LOVING.   
In Claudia Jean Cregg’s dreams, she is happy.


	6. Six

In Tobias Ziegler’s dreams, he couldn’t tell you what his job is. He probably isn’t satisfied with it, but it’s not really important. He supposes, though, that he must be Communications Director, because he spends an awful lot of time throwing rubber balls at Sam Seaborn’s window, if only to see his face when he appears in his doorway.  
In Toby Ziegler’s dreams, there is Claudia Jean. His best friend, his confidant, his sister. He rarely believes in such things, but in his dreams, Toby will admit that Claudia Jean Cregg is his soulmate.   
In Tobias Ziegler’s dreams, his father is there. He wasn’t before, but after he talked to Josh, his father is everywhere.  
In Toby Ziegler’s dreams, Andrea Wyatt is there, but not as much as he expects. Maybe he had been in love with her, but lately it is less Andy and more Huck and Molly. So much Huck and Molly.   
In Tobias Ziegler’s dreams, there is Governor Bartlet, before his presidency, when Toby would have never thought to mistrust or disbelieve him. There is the father-figure, overly generous and exceedingly kind. A real, good man, not yet worn-down by the stress of his job. The underdog who’d kept him on the team. The underdog who had let Leo McGarry keep him on the team.  
In Toby Ziegler’s dreams, there is a long dirt road and a truck. There are endless fields. There is Josh Lyman and Donnatella Moss. There are jokes and smiles and arguments and pit stops and phone calls and time zones. There is not a lot of logic, but there is laughter.   
In Tobias Ziegler’s dreams, there is Leo McGarry. Leo McGarry, who saw through him in the first Bartlet campaign and still believed in him. Leo McGarry, who kept Toby, out of everyone. Leo McGarry, who, though no one would admit it, was like a father to all of them.   
In Toby Ziegler’s dreams, there is love. The love he is afraid to show during the day. The love that consumes him whenever his White House family or his blood family are in trouble.   
In Tobias Ziegler’s dreams, he is happy.


	7. Seven

In her dreams, Donnatella Moss doesn't work for Joshua Lyman. She works at the White House, sure- she's worked there for so long, it's hard to imagine working anywhere else, even in her dreams. But she does not work for Joshua Lyman.   
In her dreams, Donna Moss is with C.J., and Abbey, and Amy. She relives Abbey's birthday party, corky wine and all. She enjoys their company; she has fun.  
In her dreams, Donnatella Moss is in Indiana. She is with Josh, and with Toby, and they are lost. They are lost, but they are together, and that's enough for her.   
In her dreams, Donna Moss is, not surprisingly, with Josh Lyman. Sometimes, she is convincing him to slow down, or navigating for him, or bringing him a coffee. She's doing it because she wants to, though. Of course, more often, she is holding his hand, or wrapped in his arms, or watching him read.   
In her dreams, Donnatella Moss is working for something. She is always on the go, always trying to help some group. She is filing papers, she is marching, she is writing. She is helping. She is doing more.  
In her dreams, Donna Moss is traveling. Australia, Germany, Italy, France. California and Michigan and Florida and South Dakota. Driving or flying or sailing or hiking. She travels the world. She gets Josh to take her everywhere she hasn't been.   
In her dreams, Donnatella Moss is with C.J. Cregg and Leo McGarry and Sam Seaborn and Ainsley Hayes and Amy Gardner and Joey Lucas and Margaret Hooper and Charlie Young and Toby Ziegler and the President and Abbey Bartlet and Will Bailey and the assistants and Josh. If she remembers their name, they are there. Because they are important to her.   
In her dreams, Donna Moss sometimes remembers things she wishes she didn't. She remembers hearing Toby's voice- "Josh was hit." She remembers the panic after the President's episode. But she remembers the good things, too- State of the Union addresses, the President's reelection, every time Josh narrowly escaped being fired.   
In her dreams, Donnatella Moss has found love. She realizes it was in front of her the whole time, right under her nose, where she wouldn't think to look. She is not defined by her past romances. She is not used, or damaged. She is strong, she is a woman, she is in love. She is in love with Joshua Lyman.   
In her dreams, Donna Moss is happy.


	8. Eight

In his dreams, Leo McGarry is Chief of Staff. It’s where he is wanted, where he is needed. It is important- the most important thing he will ever do.   
In his dreams, Leo McGarry is sometimes in a jungle. There are gunshots around him, and people speaking in foreign tongues. He is bleeding, he is broken. He doesn’t know whether he will live.   
In his dreams, Leo McGarry is quite often drinking. The whiskey slides down his throat as smoothly as water, and it tastes like heaven. He drinks bottles of it, and yet when he stands, he is steady. These are the dreams he is afraid of.   
In his dreams, Leo McGarry is with Joshua Lyman in the lobby at Christmas. He is telling Joshua Lyman that no, he wasn’t going for a hug, and he is immediately regretting it. He is watching Joshua Lyman and Donnatella Moss from afar, and smiling. Leo McGarry is watching his son grow up.  
In his dreams, Leo McGarry is at dinner with Jed Bartlet. Not with Mr. President. No, here, his friend is far less “Mr. President” and far more “Jed,” and they are at dinner together. Not because Abigail is off on some trip. Not because Leo needs to tell his boss about some threat of war on the other side of the planet. No, they are at dinner because they are two best friends who need a night out every now and again.  
In his dreams, Leo McGarry is sometimes dancing with Jordon Kendall outside the White House- but this time, they are not interrupted. This time, he gets to take her home, to tell her how he feels. This time, he’s given the chance to give them a chance, with no idea of whether it will work out in the end.   
In his dreams, Leo McGarry is at the opera. He is with Mallory and they are doing something they both enjoy. He is making up for ruining her childhood with alcohol, and making up for separating from her mother. He is spending time with his daughter, because she is his daughter and despite his terrible way with feelings, he loves her.   
In his dreams, Leo McGarry is never, ever with his ex-wife. He knew they were drifting apart long before the fight that ended it all, and in some ways he is happier without her, and she is definitely happier without him. Still, he sometimes catches himself glimpsing her in his dreams, because she will never really be gone.   
In his dreams, Leo McGarry’s life is almost as it is now. There are just small enhancements, things he could do in his waking hours but never does. There is friendship, with Jed and Abbey and Margaret, and with C.J. There is family in Mallory and Josh, though he’d never admit the second. And there is comradery with Toby, Will, Sam. There is love with all of them.   
In his dreams, Leo McGarry is happy.


	9. Nine

In his dreams, Charles Young wouldn’t work for anyone but Josiah Bartlet. When he thinks of his upcoming graduation and the promise he made to the president, his chest tightens painfully. Maybe he had originally come to the White House looking for a small job, but now, he can’t imagine being anywhere else.  
In his dreams, Charlie Young has a father. Not a Mr. Young, not some guy who got his mom pregnant and disappeared, but an actual, honest-to-God father. Someone who, if he asked in real life, would gladly admit to being his father. Someone who had come close to saying those words on Thanksgiving just a few years earlier. In his dreams, Charlie Young has Jed Bartlet as a father.   
In his dreams, Charles Young has more time to spend with Deena. Time to go to her basketball games and to help her study. Time to introduce her to his girlfriend, to the president, to everyone he works with. Time to make her breakfast in the mornings and to hassle her about her boyfriends. Time to be a big brother.   
In his dreams, Charlie Young is with Zoey Bartlet. It can be something as close as snuggling on the couch or sneaking out of her room after the President has gone to bed, or it can be as simple as making eye contact across a crowded room, or brushing hands as they pass each other in the halls. But he always has her, and she always has him.  
In his dreams, Charles Young is with his mother. He doesn’t need to be worried about, well, anything, because his mom is there to protect him from everything he could possibly have to worry about.   
In his dreams, Charlie Young isn’t scared to hold Zoey’s hand in public. He isn’t scared to hug her goodbye at a party, and he isn’t afraid to kiss her cheek even when there could be hundreds of cameras nearby. He isn’t afraid to open his mail, worried that it might contain threats. He isn’t afraid to walk with the President, to let everyone see that he is with Josiah Bartlet or that he is dating the president’s daughter. Because he is free to love and free to care and free to work, just like any other person in the country. Because all men are created equal, and people actually care about that.   
In his dreams, Charles Young is cared for, something that didn’t happen much before. He is surrounded by family and friends and love and love and love. In his dreams, there’s a father and a mother and a sister. There are brothers in Josh, in Toby, in Sam and Will. There are aunts and uncles and cousins and family in Deena, in Margaret, in Donna and C.J. and Leo and Bonnie and Carol.   
In his dreams, Charlie Young is happy.


	10. Ten

In their dreams, there is family. Perhaps not by blood, but it is family nonetheless. Brothers and sisters and family, closer than every before.   
In their dreams, there is love. They have never loved a group of people more than this group, and they can never, will never, love anyone so much as they love these people.  
In their dreams, there is work. There is always work, or nearly always, and no reason that should change in their dreams. Besides, without work, they would not have each other.  
In their dreams, there is time. Time to do what they love and what they miss. Time to be a person and still time to change the world.   
In their dreams, there is happiness. Never perfect, but always a rare smile because there is something to smile about.   
In their dreams, there’s friendship, of course. The closeness between the White House staff wouldn’t allow for anything else.   
In their dreams, there is a right way, a right decision, a way to save lives and to still keep doing their jobs.   
In their dreams, there is the White House. It’s what brought them all together and there is nothing that could ever bring them so far apart that that wouldn’t be theirs. There is the White House because the White House belongs to them, at least for now.   
In their dreams, there is health, and long life. No scars, no deadly diseases, no flashbacks.  
In their dreams, there is Jed, and Abbey, and Liz and Ellie and Zoey. There is Leo, and Mallory, and Josh and Donna. There is Sam, and Toby, and Will Bailey. There’s C.J. and there’s Danny. There’s Charlie and Margaret and Carol and Bonnie and Ginger and Ainsley. There’s Mrs. Landinghams and Debbie Fiderer. There’s Glen Allen Walken and there’s Mandy Hampton. There’s Noah Lyman and Mrs. Young and Simon Donovan and there’s Molly. There’s Andy Wyatt and Huck and Molly. There’s all of the president’s grandkids, and there’s C.J.’s niece Hogan.   
In their dreams, they are together. They’re together awake, together asleep. There’s love and there’s family and there’s friendship and there’s fighting. There’s making up and there’s gifts and there’s exhausted arguments and there’s photos and stress and work and life. There’s the White House and the president and offices and governors. There’s phone calls and meetings and press and always something to do. Always there is something to do, but it’s something to do together.   
In their dreams, the world is not perfect, and not everything goes right. There are struggles, there are fights and mishaps and slip-ups. There is a lot going on, and it’s impossible for everything to possibly go right. But they make it through. They land on their feet, straighten up and try again. They work and they work and sometimes it gets them nowhere, but together they find a solution. They write laws and argue positions and make charts and change the world, one little bit at a time. They do everything they can.   
In their dreams, they are happy.


End file.
